


take my hand (there's nothing left)

by sohappily



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, M/M, Narry - Freeform, One direction AU, liam wants to save everyone, louis is just happy to still be alive, niall and harry are young and naive and its cute, platonic cuddles and cheek kisses and stuff, so the ot5 is more or less a brotherhood than anything else, totally platonic, you know the drill, zayn is surprisingly chill considering the circumstances
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-24
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-02-22 09:14:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2502485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sohappily/pseuds/sohappily
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"take my hand, it's better now together, though it's only us, take my hand, we'll raise our glass, now there's nothing left."</p><p>(a one direction au in which the world is ending and they're teenage boys who aren't sure what to do.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. the beginning;

**Author's Note:**

> okay so this is my first attempt at like a full length fic?? like i've done fics before but this is the first one i've planned to a 't' so we'll see how it goes.
> 
> also, i compiled some links about where the boys are staying, so here they are: http://pastebin.com/9eG6ZKt8

**December 28, 2015.** That was the day the world ended.

 

It was the start of the spread of a virus known as “Coexsus,” which spread like wildfire and destroyed everything in it’s path in a matter of hours. Anyone who had come into contact with it was sure to die a tragic death, too. No matter how hard you tried to stay safe, you couldn’t; it seeped in through cracks under doors and through whispers on the streets and through innocent blown kisses.

They shut down everything save for the hospitals when the first breakout happened. No school, no work, no banks, and no gas stations, no stores. Outside was a dangerous place that meant certain death. Some weren’t even safe in their home, which was more or less like a large, brick coffin for most families.

 

In fact, Niall would have died if he hadn’t been over at his friend’s, Harry’s, house. Niall had received a rushed, quiet phone call from his mom at the hospital quickly explaining everything - _your dad was coughing up blood and having problems breathing, he went unconscious, I called 999, we’re both at the hospital, stay at Harry’s, I love you._ Needless to say, he was terrified. In between gasps for breath, he told Harry’s mum about it all, and she was more than willing to keep him at their house.

Niall had cried himself to sleep that night, and it would have been a lot worse if Harry hadn’t been pressed up against his side, leaving soft kisses in his hair and rubbing circles on his thigh. Harry understood that this was major and there was a good chance that neither of Niall’s parents would be leaving the hospital, but he still whispered it’ll be okay into Niall’s neck as the hours ticked by.

 

A week later, Harry’s mum had come upstairs and burst through their bedroom door, catching the two in the act of making out. Harry knew something was wrong when she didn’t seem to react to it, and he was right. In a sentence or two, Harry’s mom informed them that they had to pack up everything, that government officials would be by the next morning to take them away to some safe haven on the outskirts of London. Harry had offered to help pack up some of the linens and dishes and whatnot, but his offer was nixed when she added that they were only taking people 21 and younger.

The rest of that day was spent in uncomfortable silence, packing and trying not to cry. Niall took to helping Harry, since all of his stuff was still at his own house. He hoped that he would be able to stop and grab a few things, at least, but he didn’t keep his hopes up. As night fell and the last suitcase was packed, Harry and Niall sat on the bed, unable to sleep. They spoke in hushed whispers about what the world must look like now compared to how it looked a month ago, about how crazy this all was, and about everything that they’d never get to do.

“I’ll never get to be married, or have children, or... or anything, really,” Harry whispered, leaning his head on Niall’s shoulder as they stared at the wall. “There’s no hope, Niall.”

“That’s not true, Harry,” he replied, brushing a stray strand of hair out of Harry’s eyes. “There’s hope. We’re going to a safe haven, maybe they’ll be able to keep us alive, maybe they can find a cure for Coxesus, we can still live a happy life. Together.” In his mind, he knew that none of this would ever happen, but it was nice to dream about it, especially when the dream involved Harry.

“I hope you’re right.” He kissed Niall’s neck and grinned as Niall looked down at him with wide, blue eyes and a smile playing on his lips. “In case anything happens, Ni - not saying it will, just in case - I love you so so so much. More than you’ll ever know.”

Niall exhaled, a distant look in his eyes. “I sure hope nothing happens. But yeah, if it does, I love you too. You’re all I could ever ask for, and more, and I don’t want to lose you to some _sickness_.” He leaned down to press a kiss to Harry’s forehead. “I think we should get some sleep.” Harry nodded and pulled back the sheets, burrowing into them. Niall followed suit and curled into Harry’s side. “Goodnight,” he mumbled, voice laced with sleep.

“Goodnight, babe,” Harry replied, curling his arm protectively around Niall. If anyone was going to survive this, it was going to be them. It had to be.

+

The next morning, they were woken by sirens blaring from outside. Niall and Harry jumped up from their bed and ran downstairs, where Harry’s mum and stepdad were waiting. Harry’s mum pressed a kiss to each of their cheeks and waited with them as the emergency vehicles raced by in the streets, loaded with people and luggage.

It was ten minutes until a police car pulled into Harry’s driveway and a tall, brooding officer stepped out, equipped with a gas mask. He jogged up to the door and rang the doorbell, shattering the fragile silence inside. Harry’s mum cracked open the door, and even though she was whispering, Niall could hear her telling the officer about how Niall had come here for an afternoon but turned out to be trapped here, and _could he go home to get some things?_ Niall didn’t see the officer’s response, but by the way Mrs. Anne smiled at him, he figured he’d get to grab at least some of what he owned. The two boys got another kiss from Harry’s mum and a hug from Harry’s stepdad before the officer handed them gas masks and they went outside to the cop car.

 

Once they were safely inside the car with the doors locked, the officer told them they could take off their masks. “I’m Josh, by the way,” he added. “Harry and Niall, is it?” They nodded back, almost hesitant. “Okay. Well, Niall, we’ll go back to your house and you’ll have ten minutes to throw some things together. I’ll have to give you my mask and you’ll have to go in alone, I don’t have enough of the quality masks to let Harry accompany you. Understand?”

“Yessir,” Niall responded in a whisper. He glanced over at Harry, who had his head in his hands, taking deep, shaky breaths. He leaned over and wrapped his arms around his friend and hoped that maybe, just maybe, it’d help a little. At this point, though, Niall was thankful that he had only received a phone call from his mom and that he didn’t have to either watch them die or have to walk away from them.

It was a three-minute drive to Niall’s house from Harry’s, and he was amazed at the chaos outside. He hadn’t dared to go outside since the call from his mum, and he was glad. Bodies were piled up on the sides of the road, people were leaned up against blood and vomit-smeared homes, and it smelled like smoke, blood, and sick. When he pulled up to his driveway, he was almost hesitant to get out of the car - there were two bodies on his lawn, obviously ones who had tried to make it out alive but failed.

“Niall, are you even listening?” Josh said, his voice louder than normal.

“Sorry, I drifted off-”

“I realized. Now look here, you have ten minutes to bring one suitcase back to this car. If you have more than one bag, there won’t be room. More than ten minutes and the gas mask will stop doing it’s job and you’ll probably die in your house. Go.” Josh passed the mask back to Niall and unlocked the door, letting him out.

Niall wasted no time in pulling the house key from his pocket and unlocking the front door. He made sure to close it behind him for extra safety and he bolted upstairs. He pulled a duffel bag from his closet and threw in some clothes, his wallet, two snapbacks, his laptop and phone, chargers, and a leather-bound notebook that was filled with doodles, song lyrics, and thoughts that had been scribbled down at three in the morning. He checked the clock on his wall and his heart beat in his chest when he realized he had roughly two minutes left. His mind was reeling with everything he _should_ grab - expensive jewelry from his mom, a signed baseball from his dad, some DVD’s - but none of it seemed to matter that much as he zipped up his bag and ran outside, hoping desperately that the gas mask would still work.

 

When he got back to the cop car, he flung open the door, threw in his duffel, then slammed it shut and locked it. “Just in time,” Josh said, taking the mask back. “Any more stops?” Niall shook his head and Harry stayed silent, and Josh took that as a sign to drive off towards this so-called safe haven.

It was a painfully silent and long drive. There wasn’t much to say, though, aside from mumbling I’m sorry and I love you. By the time they pulled up to The Shard, which Niall supposed was their safe haven, Harry’s and Niall’s eyes were red and puffy and they were taking in short, shallow breaths with their arms wrapped around each other.

“Hate to cut you lads off, but we’re here.” He passed back two smaller masks. “Take these and head straight through the front entrance, you’ll be directed from there. Don’t take the masks off until you at least get into the elevator, though, okay?” Niall and Harry weakly nodded in response and put the masks on with a whispered thank you, Josh before opening the doors, grabbing their bags, and running inside.

 

The only word that described the lobby of The Shard was _chaotic_. People were running around, some screaming, some crying, some shouting, some were holding signs, some were being carried out by men in red - _paramedics?_ Niall wondered. They didn’t have to wait long, though, until a woman dressed in blue walked up to them. “Do you have a room yet?” she asked through her mask. The two boys shook their heads and readjusted the bags on their shoulders. “Follow me, I’ll get you a room.” She headed behind the front counter for a quick second, retrieving two cards, then returned and hurried into an elevator. Her lips were pursed as she tapped a gold button that had the number 36 engraved on it.

“Your room is 3617, please stay inside of your room until further notice. We can’t risk anyone leaving and we need to see what rooms have open spaces in them. There will be an announcement via phone when you need to leave your room and report to the lobby or just outside. Stay safe,” the woman said as the elevator doors opened and she handed Niall and Harry their keys. “You can take your masks off now,” she added as they headed off, duffels and suitcases in hand.

Slowly, they slid their masks down and let them hang around their necks. “‘S creepy, isn’t it?” Niall asked as they searched for room 3617. “Totally empty. Totally silent.”

Harry tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows. “You’re right. It is silent. I don’t even hear faint talking.” He continued down the hall, a concerned look still on his face.

“Maybe we’re the first ones in the hall,” Niall offered. “She did just grab a key at random.” Harry seemed satisfied with this answer, nodding in agreement as he stopped in front of their room. He slid the key into the slot and twisted the door handle when a small light on the knob flashed green. He pushed the door open and stumbled into the room with Niall right on his heels.

“T-this is luxurious, Niall, do you see this?” Harry remarked, eyes wide and jaw dropped. “Look at this view, too, I could get used to this.” He walked over to the rather large window, staring out at the midday sun. “It’d be even better if I knew that everyone down there was safe.”

 

Niall dropped his duffel on the bed and joined Harry at the window, resting his head on the younger’s shoulder. “I wish there was a way to stop this,” he said dreamily.

“I do too, babe,” Harry agreed, wrapping his arm around Niall’s waist. “I just hope we’ll be safe here, y’know?” He exhaled loudly and turned his head, pressing a kiss to the top of Niall’s head. “If I don’t come out of here alive, I hope you do. You deserve to live, Niall, you really do,” he added.

Niall lifted his head to look at Harry in the eyes. “No, don’t say that. Either we both survive or we both die, I’m not going on without you either. And that’s that. Fate can suck it.”

“If Fate doesn’t wanna suck it, can I?” Harry chuckled, raising an eyebrow. When Niall just stared back, jaw hanging slightly open, Harry quickly added that he was joking (for now, at least).

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d love to, but like - I don’t - I can’t do that right now,” Niall explained, stumbling over his words. “Too much going on.”

Harry hugged Niall and rocked back and forth. “I understand, Niall, it’s okay. I just wanted to make you smile.” He paused. “Do we have cable up here?” Niall giggled into Harry’s shoulder. _He’s so dumb._

“I guess,” Niall responded, wiggling out of Harry’s grasp and walking over to the TV. He grabbed the remote from the dresser and picked it up. He held the remote at full arm’s length and pressed the power button, hoping to get some sort of signal. Thankfully, the TV flickered to life and an intense action movie started playing on the screen. Niall quickly changed the channel, wanting to watch something more light-hearted. He settled on a rerun of Friends and settled down onto the bed, suddenly feeling extremely hopeless in the face of what was happening. Harry sat down next to him and smiled as Niall rested his head on Harry’s lap, lying down across the foot of the bed.

 

“You okay?” he asked, running his fingers through Niall’s hair.

“Yeah, I guess. I just - this is so _insane_ , Harry, do you realize how crazy this is? People are dying left and right and they’re moving children and teenagers into a luxury hotel to keep them safe. But how are we going to survive when this disease is literally everywhere?” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Harry leaned down to kiss the side of Niall’s head. “It’ll be fine. We’ll be safe here, I promise. And you’ll survive, I know it. You’re pretty strong for being so tiny.” Niall chuckled and thumped him in the chest. “You know I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Niall smiled, curling up beside Harry. “I’m sleepy.”

Harry shook his head. “I am, too. I’m exhausted and just want this day to be over despite the fact that it’s barely past noon.” He stood up, closed the blinds, turned off the lights and TV, and crawled into the single bed that was in the middle of the room. He grinned as Niall curled up next to him and pressed his body against Harry’s. “You’re so cute,” Harry mused as he pulled the blankets up.

“You’re cuter,” Niall whispered before turning around to give Harry a peck on the nose. He turned back around, closed his eyes, and fell asleep almost instantly with Harry’s arms protectively wrapped around him. In that moment, it seemed impossible that they would ever be separated or hurt. Everything had to go right, it _had_ to.


	2. the middle; part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> niall and harry get settled into the refuge center, get roomed with 3 other boys, and try to start their new lives on the right foot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so at the time i'm posting this i have 146 hits on the first part?? and i know it's not a whole lot but i'm still amazed honestly this is great  
> there is one sensitive scene but i'm a horrible writer so it's not really intense and it's mainly just dumb that's all

The next morning, the two were awoken by a loud, shrill alarm. Niall was the first to bolt up; Harry just rolled over and grabbed Niall’s waist, protesting his movement. Almost as it started, it stopped, and a voice came over the intercom, directing them to get up and to be standing outside of their rooms in five minutes. As Niall pulled the covers back and swung his legs out of bed, Harry groaned behind him.

“Babe, we have five minutes. Don’t be in such a rush.”

Niall shook his head and stood up. “I don’t wanna risk anything. They probably have the power to kill us if we don’t behave.”

Harry chuckled and sat up in bed. “You’re ridiculous.” (He got up, anyways).

 

They immediately went outside to avoid the risk of losing track of time. Harry pocketed a key before they stood outside of their rooms, though, so they wouldn’t get locked out. Once outside, they were relieved to find that there were indeed others on their floor. Soon, there were two to three people standing outside of every room on the floor, and Niall noticed they were all about his and Harry’s age. Across the hall from them was an older boy with three younger girls, presumably his sisters. The older boy looked up and saw Niall staring, and he shot him a quick, awkward smile before turning his attention back to his sisters.

“Wonder where Gemma is,” Harry whispered into Niall’s ear when he noticed the boy with his sisters.

“I dunno. I wonder if Greg and his family are okay,” Niall replied. He sighed and rested his head on Harry’s shoulder. “I should call my mum after this is done,” he mumbled to himself.

Before Harry could reply, the elevator doors opened and about fifteen people walked out - some workers, some teenagers like them. “Raise your hand if you have extra space in your room,” a woman called out through a megaphone.

Harry tentatively raised his hand along with twenty others on the floor. “Who’s willing to take someone else in their room?” the woman added. Harry kept his hand up, completely willing to give up his private room with his boyfriend to give someone else a room. Niall hugged him around his waist, and Harry blushed.

The group of people slowly started making their way down the hall, assigning some of the teenagers to rooms. Soon, they were in front of Niall and Harry, and a man directed two boys in the group to room with “that curly haired guy and the short blonde.”

 

Harry opened the door for the two, and they set their stuff down before returning outside. “Step into the middle of the hall if you’re a girl,” another woman called. “You’ll be taken three floors up.” Niall watched as the boy across from him crouched down and hugged every one of his sisters tightly before lightly pushing them to the center of the hall. The boy wiped his eyes as the woman called them all to the elevator and they piled inside.

“Keep your room phones plugged in,” a man boomed from the other end of the hallway. “There will be more people coming in constantly and tonight, we’re going to close the doors and do tests on everyone. Stay inside your rooms at all costs, and that’s a demand, not a request.” He nodded for emphasis and made his way to the elevator, signaling that they could go back in their rooms. Niall shot one more glance at the older boy across the hall from them, head turned towards the floor as he turned back into his room alone.

 

There was a very uncomfortable silence between everyone as the four settled into the room. The two new boys were holding hands and sitting on the floor, Harry was on the bed, and Niall was still standing by the door. “I’m Niall Horan,” he said, a timid smile on his face. “21, originally from Ireland, moved to London some years after my parent’s divorce, that's how I met this dummy,” he smiled, nodding at Harry.

Harry grinned cheekily and introduced himself. “Harry Styles, 20, was student at uni before this mess happened. Going in for Law and Music,” he said, staring down at the comforter on the bed. “Tattoo enthusiast, I guess I sing sometimes, and I’m Niall’s boyfriend..” There was a quiet chuckle from one of the new boys, and Harry felt his face flush.

“I’m Zayn Malik, 21, um, I like art a lot, have a lot of tattoos, and I’m Liam’s boyfriend,” said the boy who chuckled. Harry brought his gaze up to Zayn. “That’s why I laughed.” He smiled and looked at his boyfriend, Liam.

“Liam Payne, 21, I like running and singing and dancing. Yeah.” He gave an awkward wave with the hand that wasn’t intertwined in Zayn’s. “Did you lads get here last night?”

Niall nodded as he sat down next to Liam on the floor. “Yesterday morning, it was mad. You?"

“Oh. We came at about 1 this morning, we had to sleep on the floor of some offices on the second floor.”

“They didn’t have anymore available, empty rooms, I think,” Zayn interjected. “I heard someone say something about clearing out space the next morning. The testing might clear some people out, too.” He swallowed hard.

There was a silence again, but it was far less awkward than before. “Where should we sleep?” Liam asked. “I’ll take the floor, really, but Zayn-”

Zayn lightly pushed Liam. “I can take the floor, too, I’m not fragile and I don’t need to be pampered.” A rosy blush appeared on his cheeks.

“Who are you kidding? Of course you need to be pampered. Look at you,” Liam replied, pressing a kiss to Zayn’s cheek.

Niall actually looked at Zayn this time, and he had to say he was amazed at the boy’s physique. Tall, slender yet muscular, tattoos up and down both arms, brown eyes, long eyelashes, dark hair - he quickly understood why Liam decided to date this Zayn boy.

“I think the couch folds out,” Harry mentioned, standing up and walking over to the couch. He picked up the cushions and found a handle, which he pulled on. The couch folded out into a twin size bed, and he raised an eyebrow at Liam and Zayn. “Niall and I can sleep here if you want the bed -”

“No, no, no, we’ll be fine on the couch,” Liam interrupted. “Don’t want to trouble you, we’ll be fine, promise.” He smiled and thanked Harry before dropping his bag at the end of the couch. Zayn followed him closely and sat on the bed, resting his chin in his hands.

“This is so weird,” he said. “Like - two weeks ago, I was walking through the park and met up with some friends and we played footie for an hour. Not a care in the world. Now I don’t even want to risk going outside.”

Niall nodded slowly. “I was saying the same thing to Harry after we woke up. Like, how mental is this? I’d probably say it was a prank if so many people hadn't died.” He regretted saying it after the words left his tongue. “Sorry.”

 

“While we’re on the subject...” Liam started, “What’s going on with your families?” He paused. “I deal with things better when I talk about them, it's weird." Another pause. "My mum, she’s okay, I think, my dad was on a business trip and I haven’t been able to get a hold of him when I call. I don’t know where my sisters are, they moved out a while ago and won’t respond to my messages. Either that, or they can’t.” He sighed and sat next to Zayn.

Harry shifted in his place next to Niall and took a deep breath. “Both of my parents are okay, I think. I should call later, just to make sure. My sister, Gemma, I don’t know where she is. She moved to the States a few months ago, I don’t know if they’ve been infected yet, I should call her too...”

“We should all call before dinner tonight,” Zayn said. “I have like, three sisters, they’re all here, which is good, but my dad’s already passed and I don’t know how well my mom’s handling it.” He leaned onto Liam, who threw an arm around Zayn’s shoulder. “Niall? What about you?”

“I - um, I think my brother and his family are okay,” he said. “Should be at least. My parents, they’re both - well, my dad died early on and I think - I think my mom is, too,” he choked out. “I got a call from her at the hospital and it was probably the last I’d ever hear from her. I didn’t tell her I loved her or anything, the news that she told me was so shocking and I didn’t know what to say and I was scared and sad and confused and I wish I could tell her I loved her, like...” He wiped away a tear rolling down his cheek and sat up. “So that’s it.”

“I’m sorry, Niall, I had no idea,” Zayn said faintly. “I shouldn’t have asked, I’m sorry.”

Niall shook his head. “It’s okay, you would have figured it out eventually, but it’s hard coming to terms with it.”

 

Harry tightly hugged Niall and let Niall cry on his shoulder as the sun creeped into the sky. Everyone kept their eyes on the floor, not really sure of what to do after such personal stories. Liam kissed Zayn on the cheek and patted his thigh lightly before they both leaned back onto the bed and looked out of the window. It wasn’t long before another alarm shattered the silence. They were instructed to stand outside again, and slowly, the four of them stood up and made their way outside. Niall felt slightly self-conscious as he walked outside with tears streaking his cheeks, but Harry held him close and planted kisses to the top of his head. Liam and Zayn stood beside them, hand-in-hand.

“Who has a room to themselves?” a man asked as he stepped out of the elevator. “Step into the middle of the hall.”

Niall lifted his head from Harry’s shoulder to see the older boy who was across from them take a step into the middle. “Who’s willing to take one more in their room regardless of how much space you have?” the man boomed. Of course, Harry raised his hand, and Niall watched from the corner of his eye as the boy across from him was directed to get his things and come to their room.

 

After all of the single people were assigned a room, another group of about twenty people piled from the elevator and filed into the now-empty rooms. Harry turned and followed Liam and Zayn back into the room, taking Niall with him. They sat down on their respective “beds,” Niall pressed against Harry’s side, still shaking, eyes damp. When the new boy walked in, the expecting awkward silence didn’t happen.

“I’m Louis Tomlinson, 23, football junkie, love me a cuppa tea and a good prank. Some people call me rude, but I like to say I’m honest.” He closed the door behind him and walked into the center of the room and sat in front of the bed. “My sisters are upstairs, my mum is dead and I’m pretty sure my dad is too. Not sure, really. But what can you do, y’know?” He stretched his legs and sighed. “What about you guys?”

Liam was shocked at how forward this boy was. Nonetheless, he introduced himself and filled Louis in on his parents and family. Zayn followed, then Harry, who also introduced Niall to save him from retelling his story.

“What’s the matter with Blondie?” Louis asked, nodding towards Niall, who was still curled into Harry’s chest. Harry, Liam, and Zayn stayed silent, but they all shot him a look that could have killed him. “Okay, sorry,” he said, turning his gaze to the floor. “So.”

“So what?” Liam spoke, voice abnormally deep. “Do you just expect us to suddenly be best friends? Are you expecting us to whip out a game system and spend the rest of the day playing Fifa?”

“That’d be a little crazy considering I haven’t known you for more than two minutes and seeing that there’s no game system hooked to the TV, nobody brought one. Including me.” He pursed his lips together and sighed before talking again. “I was just saying ‘so’ as another conversation starter. Tell me about yourselves in more detail. Like... favorite food, favorite band, I don’t know.”

“Dunno about my favorite band, but I really like indie stuff,” Harry answered. “But I also like some 90’s grunge bands.” He shrugged.

Zayn was the next to speak up. “Rap’s cool,” he said. “So’s R&B.”

“I’m kinda the same,” Liam chimed in. “I like rap and hip hop, but I can tolerate just about anything.”

Niall sighed and detached himself from Harry’s chest, wiping his eyes. “I can listen to _literally_ anything. I was raised on Bon Jovi and The Eagles, I’ve been stuck listening to Harry’s indie stuff which isn’t that bad, I’ve danced around my kitchen to Michael Buble, I play along to acoustic, slow songs, do chores listening to rap - anything.”

“That’s great, kid,” Louis smiled. “I guess I’m the same. I like show tunes, too, I starred in a few plays at my school and realized I liked musicals and suddenly I have a playlist full of Broadway songs.” He chuckled and leaned back against the TV stand.

“Are you...?” Harry started, voice fading as he realized how rude he could come off as sounding if he finished the question. He shot a glance at Liam and Zayn, silently pleading for help. “Um. Are you into, like, girls...?”

 

Harry was a little shocked when Louis outright laughed. He hadn’t heard true laughter in about a week, so it was welcome, but also a little frightening considering the question.

“That’s a good one. Yeah, I can appreciate and feel up a fit girl every once in a while, but men are more pleasurable. How about you, hair style?”

“You call me 'hair style' again and your head is getting shaved in your sleep.” Harry grinned as Louis laughed again - bright, loud, and deep. “But, uh, yeah. I mean, Niall’s my boyfriend and all.” He leaned in to kiss Niall on the cheek.

“You sap,” Louis replied. “How about you, Lee-yum?”

“I'm with this man of few words,” he replied, not even bothering to hide his smile as he looked at Zayn.

“Good. Now that all of our confessions are out there, we should either become fast friends or mortal enemies. Let’s hope for the first.” The five of them all laughed - it sounded even better when five laughs bounced off of the walls instead of one - and Niall was suddenly very thankful for Louis and his tight pants and his fluffy hair.

 

+++

 

At around one in the afternoon, they were all called down to Level 34 for testing. Reluctantly, they got up from their spots on the floor or bed and walked into the hall, where they were surprised to find about seventy other people outside. Niall grabbed Harry’s hand and they walked down the hall and piled into the elevator.

“This can’t be safe,” Louis remarked as the doors closed.

“What is safe, nowadays?” Harry replied, staring up at the ceiling of the elevator.

“You have a point.” He stayed quiet until the doors opened again on the 34th floor. They all flooded out of the elevator and into a large, spacious, stark-white room with numerous floor-to-ceiling windows and a podium pushed against the back wall, a megaphone face-down on top of it. They all waited for a good ten minutes before they shut the doors in the room and two men came up to the podium. Niall recognized one of them as Josh, the officer who had brought them here. He nudged Harry in the side and pointed at him, and Harry grinned.

“This is going to take a long time if you don’t follow directions, okay?” Josh said into the megaphone. “Listen carefully. If you are a male from ages 11 to 17, stand in the corner to your left. Males ages 18 to 25, stand in the front corner to your right. Females from ages 11 to 17, make your way over to the back left corner, and females ages 18 to 25 head over to the back right. Stay silent.” He put the megaphone to his side, and the mass of people started moving towards their respective corners.

 

Niall stayed glued to Harry’s side as they waded through the crowd over to the right of the podium. “What’ya think they’ll do?” he asked timidly. Harry shrugged in response and squeezed Niall’s hand tighter.

“Good,” Josh said before passing the megaphone over to the other officer. “M’kay. We’re going to roll out barriers to quarter this room, and you guys are going to strip down to your undergarments after we get the room partitioned.” He paused at the outcry, but continued on. “If you don’t, you’re going to be sent out onto the streets, and that’s final. After that, officers will come into your sections and you will be tested and checked to make sure you’re healthy. They’ll tell you what to do after the testing, so stay absolutely silent from now until you leave. That’s not a suggestion.”

The second he stopped talking, women in blue started to roll out partitions from the walls to section the room off. Niall looked around at the 50-ish people who he was going to have to strip in front of and he felt his face get hot. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around.

“What was our room again?” Louis whispered, already shirtless. He was starting to unbutton his pants when Niall answered “3617” and turned back around. _If Louis can do it_ , he thought, _so can I_. He slipped his shirt over his head and held it between his knees while he unbuckled his belt.

“Niall,” Harry mumbled. “I don’t like this. You - yes, I like that, don’t get me wrong, but like -”

“It’s for a good reason,” Niall responded, unbuttoning his pants and sliding them down his thighs. “It’s like gym class, just slightly larger.”

“I never took gym,” Harry replied, taking off his pants. “Great comparison, thank you.”

They were cut off by a rather buff, tall, dark-haired man who stepped into their quarter and set up a smaller divider . “Form a line, or as close to a line as you can form, and one by one, step behind the curtain and I’ll do some quick tests. When you’re finished, you can put your clothes back on and leave through the door right behind you,” he stated. “First.”

It wasn’t really surprising to Niall that Louis was the first to go up, a cheeky smile plastered on his face and black boxer-briefs clinging tightly to his bum. “What a show-off,” Harry chuckled. Niall had to laugh, too, and a time like this, it was welcome.

 

The crowd started to diminish as time went on, and soon, Harry and Niall were the among only fifteen others in their quarter. A low mumble filled the room, the few remaining people conversing quietly. Feeling _slightly_ more comforted, Niall went up and stepped behind the partition when 'next' was called.

“Name?” the doctor asked as he inspected Niall’s upper body and torso.

“Niall Horan,” he replied, voice slightly unsteady.

“Don’t be nervous,” the doctor replied. “It’s just a check. Give me your hand.” Hesitantly, Niall held out his hand and winced as the doctor pricked Niall’s finger. “No Band-Aid, sorry.” Niall pressed his finger against his stomach to stop the bleeding.

“I'm gonna need you to fully strip down,” the man ordered.

Niall stared at him, wide-eyed. “Why do I have to do that?”

“Do you want to be kicked out or not?” he replied, raising an eyebrow. Face flushing, Niall slid his boxers down to his ankles and stared up at the ceiling. He tensed when the doctor ran his hand up Niall’s upper thigh and over the curve of his bum. “You seem just fine, Niall Horan,” the doctor said, voice slightly deeper. “Turn around one last time, just so I can make sure you don’t have any telltale signs of Coxesus.” _Sure, that’s why_ , Niall thought, but he turned around anyways, feeling extremely frightened.

As his back was turned, the doctor grabbed him and pressed Niall’s bum against his groin. “Do you need a room for tonight?” he asked Niall, voice low and husky. “If not, I can-”

Niall cursed loudly and called for Harry, unable to escape the doctor’s tight grasp on his chest and arms. Within seconds, Harry appeared at the curtain, jaw dropped. “Let him go!” he shouted, tearing the doctor away from Niall. “You - you deserve to die,” he added, guarding Niall, who was hurriedly pulling his boxers back up. “I’m leaving with him, I don’t care what you say, I don’t care what the officers said, I’m not risking _anything_ with you.” Harry turned around, rested his hand on the small of Niall’s back, and led him out.

 

“Are you okay?” he asked the instant they got out into the hallway. “Babe, are you okay? What did he do to you?”

“He just asked me to drop my boxers and he made me turn around and he grabbed me and...” Niall’s voice trailed off as he leaned into Harry’s chest, hot tears forming at the corners of his eyes. “Thank you,” he added as Harry rubbed circles on Niall’s back.

“I’d never let anything happen to you,” Harry breathed into Niall’s temple, slowly walking back towards the elevator.

Niall stayed silent and let a single tear fall before he took a deep breath and followed Harry into the elevator, more thankful than ever for the younger boy’s company.

 

+++

 

At 6:14, there was a sharp knock on the door. Harry was the first to respond to it - he bolted upright in bed, wide-eyed. Niall guessed he was worried that the staff had realized he hadn't been tested, and the way Harry shook his head as the knocking persisted confirmed Niall’s thoughts.

“Am I the only one here with a working pair of legs?” Louis groaned, standing up from the floor and half-jogging to the door. He swung it open and had a short, hushed conversation with an officer on the other side. Harry stayed balled up on the bed, his breaths shallow and quick. When Louis closed the door and returned to the living area, he exhaled deeply and looked at Zayn, chewing on his lower lip. “You have sisters here, right?” Zayn nodded slowly in reply, throwing a cautious glance at Liam. “There’s some space problem in this cursed building so they’re moving all of the girls out within the next few days starting tomorrow and if we want to see them before they leave we should leave now and they’re -”

“Louis,” Zayn interrupted, standing up and putting a hand on Louis’ shaking shoulder. “Hey. Take a deep breath. We’ll go. It’ll be okay.” Niall watched as Zayn put an arm around Louis and they stepped out into the hallway, Louis taking short breaths and clearly trying not to cry. As they closed the door and Harry burrowed back into the sheets, Niall realized _just_ how much Louis’ sisters must mean to him and how bad Louis must feel. Niall made a mental note to be extra-nice to him for the next few days.

“Baby?” Harry asked, scooting over to put his head in Niall’s lap. “What would you do if I die first?”

Niall looked down at Harry, who was focusing on the opposite wall. “I - I dunno, Harry. I’d probably die soon after, whether it’d be suicide or Coexsus.” He reached down to hold Harry’s hand, which was lazily resting on the blankets.

“Will you promise to stay alive for me?” Harry asked, barely louder than a whisper. He gripped Niall’s hand tighter and looked up at him with wide green eyes.

Niall swallowed hard. He didn’t want to acknowledge that Harry would die, that he would die, that they would all die in due time. But he leaned down to kiss Harry’s forehead and promised that yes, he’d stay alive for Harry. Harry then nodded, planted a kiss to Niall’s hand, and closed his eyes to fall asleep.

Liam stood up from his spot on the floor and looked at Niall, a hint of something - _pity?_ \- in his eyes, but Liam turned away and walked to the couch before Niall could confirm it. Liam laid down on the couch, a spiral-bound notebook in his hand and a pen tucked behind his ear.

 

“Liam,” Niall called in a hushed whisper. “What are you doing?”

The boy looked up and scratched his head. “Um, before all of this happened, I wrote songs and performed them in small coffee shops in my hometown.” Niall noticed a blush creeping up Liam’s neck, and Liam nervously chuckled. “It’s kind of my anchor, I guess, it like... reminds me of how it used to be.” Liam dropped his head. “It’s dumb, I know.”

Niall’s eyes widened and he actually smiled, a feeling that felt foreign to him now. “You’re kidding.”

Liam sighed. “I’m not, sadly.”

“I used to write, too. Came to coffee shops with my beat up acoustic on Friday nights and played for fifteen minutes, hoping that someone in that shop would notice me.” He paused and leaned back against the backboard of the bed. “Nobody ever did, but it was fun.”

“Now you’re the one kidding.”

“I’m not.”

Liam chuckled and looked over at Niall, a big smile on his face. “What genre?”

“I dunno, I think Harry called it ‘indie alternative’ or something. He would perform with me a lot, too - he’d sing and I’d play. We made a great team, I’d like to think.” Niall closed his eyes, remembering how he and Harry would sneak liquor from Harry’s parents' cupboard and they’d sit on the roof of his house if it was nice outside and they'd drink. Niall longed for just one more chance to do that, even though he knew it wasn’t going to happen.

“I sung with Zayn a lot of times, acapella. We started off doing R&B covers, then we started writing our own stuff, I don’t even know what genre I’d classify it as. Doesn’t matter much now, does it?” He shrugged and turned his attention back to his notebook, signaling the end of the conversation. Niall was more than comfortable with the silence (well, _almost_ silence, Harry was lightly snoring on his lap), it gave him some more time to process everything that had happened in the past week. He looked over at the alarm clock again and promptly decided that while 6:30 was too early to deeply think about his fate, it wasn’t too early to find a snack.

Niall sat in bed for another ten minutes, debating whether or not he wanted to go through the effort of finding food. It's not that he was hungry, necessarily, but he needed something to preoccupy himself from his thoughts of death. Finally, he gently slipped a pillow under Harry’s head and got out of bed. Niall grabbed a key off of the TV stand and walked out of the door and into the hallway, which was completely empty except for a small boy curled up against the wall about two doors down. Curious, Niall half-jogged to him and crouched down beside him.

“Is everything okay, mate?”

 

The boy looked up, and it was clear to Niall that he’d been crying for a long time. It was also quite obvious that the boy was probably 11, and Niall’s heart broke for him.

“My sister... she’s leaving,” he started, choking out the words in between sobs. “Tomorrow, she is. She’s all I have left. She’s it. And she’s leaving me.” He rubbed his eyes with the sleeves of his long-sleeved shirt and sniffled.

Niall put a hand on the boy’s shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. “It’s gonna be painful, I know. But I also know that you’re strong enough to make it through this, alright?” The boy looked up at Niall with puffy, red eyes. “And you’re definitely not alone. There’s two other guys in my room who have sisters leaving, too. You can make it, okay?”

The kid sniffled and nodded in response. “I’ll try, thank you.” Niall wrapped him in a hug before the boy stood up and opened the door to his room again, and Niall took it as his cue to stand up himself and go find food. He walked down to the elevator at the end of the hall with his hands in his pockets, feeling strangely sad about the poor boy. As the elevator doors opened, a very silent Zayn stepped out and breezed past Niall. There was no acknowledgement at all, and Niall decided that was probably not a good sign.

“Zayn?”

He kept walking, not even slowing down.

“Zayn!”

This time, Zayn stopped, but didn’t bother to turn around or say anything.

“Is everything okay?”

Zayn slowly shook his head and kept walking. As he got closer to the room, he shouted back at Niall. “You try saying goodbye to your three sisters with the knowledge that they’ll be dead in a week and tell me if you’re ‘okay’.” Without waiting for a reply, he slid the card into the door of their room and pushed it open, then slamming it behind him.

 

Immediately, Niall felt guilty. He wanted to return to the room and apologize, but he was still hungry and he figured that Zayn probably didn’t want to talk to anyone but Liam at the time. He sighed and stepped into the elevator, stomach grumbling noticeably loud, now. He pressed the gold-rimmed button with an engraved ‘52’ to take him up to the dining area and felt his stomach lurch as the elevator started moving.

To Niall’s relief, nobody else entered the elevator, and when the doors opened on the 52nd floor, he stepped out and took a deep breath. The floor was eerily quiet compared to the rest of the hotel, and he was thankful for it. He took a few steps down the hallway before encountering a large room on his left with a golden plaque beside the door that read 'DINING.' Quietly, he pushed open the door, more than happy when he realized nobody else was in the room.

Three long tables were pushed against the opposite wall, all covered in silky, purple tablecloths. Niall could tell some of the food had already been picked over, but there were half-sandwiches, chips, and beer, which was all he decided he needed. He grabbed a plate, then walked down the length of tables, also taking a brownie before walking over to a large wall of windows. Comforted by the picturesque view of the city, he sat down and ate, trying to ignore the way that beer tasted with toasted ham sandwiches.

It wasn't long before he finished his food, and he took another bottle of beer, leaning against the corner of the room and staring out at the skyline as he popped the cap open. As he took a sip, he wasn't sure if his mind was racing with thoughts or if was totally devoid of them - either way, he felt entirely collected.

  
With his beer bottle in hand, he stood at the window, overlooking vacant London streets. The sight helped to calm his nerves, and Niall watched as the sky turned from orange to dark blue over the deserted city, not even worrying about the hours he had spent standing at the window. It was peaceful for him, and peace was something he decided he should value more when all of this broke out. So, when the sky and the room were cloaked in darkness, he turned from the window to return back down to his room, not the least bit concerned about anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have absolutely no idea how long the middle section is going to be. it'll probably be at least 5-6 parts, possibly more depending on how in-depth i go with certain scenes. i also don't know how long it'll take me to write it all, fingers crossed that i stay inspired!!


	3. the middle; part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part 2; in which niall suffers some emotional trauma and liam gets oatmeal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter gets a little "graphic," i guess you can say. there's nothing too detailed or too major save for a minor death, so just be aware of that!
> 
> also the next part is going to be very short; i just realized i could get away with posting this by itself without the extra scenes i still need to write. yay!

There was a phone call that woke Niall up before the sun had even started to stream in through the curtained windows. Liam immediately rose from the floor and walked over to the desk where the phone was located, not even pausing to yawn or stretch. Niall guessed that he’d been awake for a while, comforting Zayn, who Niall could hear sniffling and trying to breathe evenly.

Niall pulled the blanket over his head to muffle the dull conversation between Liam and whoever was on the phone. His bliss was ruined, however, when Liam flipped on the main room light and yelled (yes, Liam actually yelled) at everyone to get out of bed. Harry was the first to sit up, his green eyes wide open and a look of mild concern on his face.

“What’s wrong, Li?”

Liam sighed and smacked Louis on the leg to get him up. Louis cursed, groaned, and rolled over to face Liam with a scowl on his face. Liam returned his scowl, just not as menacingly, before answering Harry.

“They called to say that they bused the girls out at 5 this morning, so that if there are any rooms that are too packed, some people can move out.” He paused and waited for anyone to say anything. Harry placed his arm protectively around Niall and shook his head, signaling Liam to move on.

“Second thing - they told us not to leave our rooms for a little while. Don’t know why, they just said not to leave.” He shrugged.

“If you had let me sleep, that wouldn’t have mattered,” Niall laughed, lightly chuckling at the end to avoid hurting Liam’s feelings.

Liam glanced at him apologetically and sat back down on the floor next to Zayn, who had significantly calmed down. Niall watched as Zayn rested his head on Liam’s shoulder and as Liam kissed the top of Zayn’s head and whispered in his ear.

 

Niall turned around to face Harry, who was rubbing his eyes and yawning. “G’mornin’, babe,” he mumbled, his voice laced with sleep.

“Hellooooo,” Harry softly sung in reply. “What time is it?”

Niall shrugged and looked over his shoulder at the alarm clock on the nightstand that showed 7:33 in big, red letters. He told Harry, who sighed and settled back down into the blankets and pillows. Harry grumbled and reached for Niall’s hand when he swung his legs out of bed, ready to go ahead and shower. “Don’t leave yet,” Harry faintly said. “It’s not even 8 yet.”

The blonde puckered his lips and looked at Harry, who was giving Niall the best puppy eyes Niall had seen in years, maybe ever. He exhaled deeply and pulled his legs back under the sheets, smiling at Harry. He closed his eyes, took a long breath, and tried to fall back asleep.

 

It was 8:04 when Niall rolled over and looked at the clock again. Harry was fast asleep, snoring softly, and so was Louis. Liam and Zayn were tangled together on the floor, and Niall assumed that they were finally getting sleep after a long night of staying awake. Niall, after surveying the room one last time, got up and headed into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

The bright, pale, white tile almost blinded him when he turned on the light. Squinting, he turned on the water in the shower and stripped down. He glanced at himself in the mirror before he got into the shower, wincing at how pale he had managed to get in the past few weeks.

He barely flinched when he stepped into the cold water and made it a point to shower as quickly as possible. He hummed a song to himself and by the time he finished, he was out, toweling himself dry. Niall loosely wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped back out into his room, heading to his suitcase to find clothes. He pulled out a pair of plaid boxers, some sweatpants, and a t-shirt with ‘The Eagles’ printed on it. He returned to the bathroom, got dressed, combed through his hair, and slid on a pair of shoes sitting by the door.

A glance at the alarm clock on the nightstand next to Harry’s bed told him it was 8:30. With his stomach growling and his mind wandering, he decided to leave the room to find breakfast. He soon became acutely aware that there was something happening a few doors down to the left. A group of men dressed in white and red were swarming around and in one of the rooms. A stretcher was sitting outside of the room, and a body bag was lying atop of it. Curious, he took a few steps closer, and he immediately regretted it.

 

Before a paramedic was able to fully zip up the bag, Niall saw the pale face of a small boy peeking out. His stomach twisted as he recognized the boy in the body bag as the same boy he encountered yesterday whose sister was leaving. He felt blood rushing through his veins and his heartbeat was so heavy that he swore it was going to break his ribs. Slowly, he leaned against the wall for support and watched with blurred vision as another man walked out of the room holding a rather crude noose made from a belt and shoelaces. Before Niall could turn around and leave, the man made eye contact with him and walked towards him, yelling about how ‘you shouldn’t be out of your room.’ Niall slowly nodded as his heartbeat pounded in his ears, not able to comprehend anything that was happening. He slumped to the floor, and two paramedics helped him stand back up and they helped him back to the door of his room.

One of the paramedics asked Niall if this was his room, and Niall nodded once. The paramedic on his right knocked on the door loudly, and it was soon opened by a rather angry Louis. His face softened once he saw the state Niall was in, and he immediately thanked the paramedics before taking Niall and practically dragging him to his bed.

 

“Liam!” Louis shouted, flipping on a light. “Liam, get up!”

Liam jumped up from his spot next to Zayn and ran over to Niall, his eyes wide. He took off Niall’s shoes and pulled him next to Harry, who was well awake by this time. Harry took hold of Niall’s hand and squeezed it, hoping that this was only a temporary thing, because he was not about to lose him to Coexsus.

“Get him water,” Liam ordered, pointing to Louis. “Harry, keep talking to him.” He looked over at Zayn, who was still buried in the blankets. “You can keep sleeping, I guess.”

“He’s dead,” Niall spoke, barely louder than a whisper. He turned his gaze towards Harry. “The - the little boy, he’s dead, Harry, he hung himself, this is awful, Harry, he’s dead-”

“It’s okay,” Harry interrupted, growing increasingly confused. “It’s... it’ll be okay. You’re fine, Niall, that’s all that matters.” He pressed a kiss to Niall’s temple and squeezed his hand again.

“Who’s this boy?” Liam asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

Niall laid his head on Harry’s chest, his eyes wide. “I talked to him yesterday before I got food, he said his sister was moving out today and he went and killed himself, Liam, honestly, he made his own noose and everything and he was probably about 11, he made his own noose at age 11, he was so young, Liam, he had his whole life ahead of him and he was only 11-”

His body started jerking with sobs, and Harry wrapped his other arm around Niall and cradled him, kissing his forehead and mumbling you’re okay, Niall into his ear.

Niall curled up against Harry’s side and continued to cry, his breaths shallow and his vision blurring with tears. He still felt light-headed and sick, so he didn’t complain as Harry pulled the blankets over both of them and let Niall cry himself to sleep.

 

+++

 

Niall sworn he hadn’t been asleep for more than twenty minutes before the phone rang. Liam, who had been sitting on the edge of his bed for the past hour, answered it before it had rung once.

“Hello?” A pause. “Oh, yeah, he’s... he’s out, currently. Asleep.” Niall rolled over and cocked his head at Liam, who waved at him dismissively. “I’ll, uh, I’ll tell him, yeah.” He bit his lower lip. “Can one of us come with him?” Another pause. “Yeah, sure, he’ll be there.” He hung up, looking at Niall sympathetically.

“What?” Niall asked, voice laced with fatigue.

Liam ran a hand through his hair. “The little boy - he, uh, well, it was suicide by asphyxiation. They said it happened early this morning. They, um, want to ask you some questions in about half an hour, they said they’d meet you across the hall in the boy’s room.”

“Do I have to do this alone?” Niall asked, reaching back for Harry’s hand.

“No, they said you can bring someone if it makes you feel better. But yeah. Thirty minutes.” He laid back onto Zayn’s stomach, and Niall burrowed into the sheets with Harry’s arm protectively around him.

 

+++

 

Harry led Niall into the hotel room half an hour later, the eerie feeling of death hanging heavy in the air. They were greeted by two rather buff men, one dressed in a paramedic’s uniform and the other in a cop’s. Harry lightly tapped on the wall with his knuckle, just enough to get their attention.

“Ah. Thanks for being willing to answer some questions for us, it’ll only take a minute. I’m Paul, by the way,” the paramedic said.

The other man raised his head from a notebook in his hand, the page covered in scribbles. “I’m Mark, nice to meet you.” He offered a smile before turning his attention back to the notebook.

 

“You’re the boy who saw what happened earlier, right?” Mark asked, pointing at Niall with the eraser of the pencil he was holding in his other hand.

Niall closed his eyes, telling himself over and over that this is no big deal. “Yeah, I’m Niall,” he responded. “M’ friend is Harry.”

Mark hurriedly wrote something in his notebook. “Had you seen that boy before?”

“Yesterday,” Niall answered, feeling his palms grow sweaty. “He, uh, was sitting outside his door and he was - um, he was crying, his sister was leaving and he was crying.”

While Mark wrote down seemingly every word Niall said, Paul raised an eyebrow. “Did you talk to him?”

“A little, yeah.”

There was a silence as Paul looked at Niall expectantly. “What about?” he asked when there was no response.

“Yeah, right, uh, I just asked him why he was crying and he said that his sister was leaving and that she was all he had left or somethin’ and I told him that he wasn’t alone and I hugged him before leaving.” He felt Harry’s hand on his shoulder and he relaxed ever-so-slightly, unaware that he was even tensing to begin with.

“What exactly did he say to you?” Mark asked. “Did he mention anything about killing himself or did he keep it vague?”

Niall squeezed Harry’s hand tighter. “He just, like, I think it was vague, he told me he’d try to stay strong, he told me he’d try and the poor boy couldn’t make it six hours, this is all my fault,” Niall said, stumbling over his words. “Harry, I could have invited him into our room, the boys wouldn’t have minded and he wouldn’t be dead and I practically killed him, Harry,” Niall said, gasping for breath and looking up at Harry, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Kid, it’s not your fault,” Paul said. “Can you tell me anything else about yesterday? Are you sure he didn’t say anything else?”

Niall looked down at his feet, shutting his eyes as a tear ran down his cheek. “I-I don’t remember, he probably said something else and I’m the only one who knows and I don’t even remember, I’m sorry, I’m so so so sorry...” His voice trailed off as he turned to press his face against Harry’s chest. “I don’t know,” he mumbled.

Harry slowly rubbed his hand up and down Niall’s shaking back. “Is there anything else you need?” he asked.

“That’s all we need, thank you,” Paul said, giving Niall a pat on the shoulder.

“You can return to your room now, sorry for bringing you out here,” Mark added, offering him a half-hearted smile.

 

Harry nodded his head at the two as he turned and walked out of the room, trying to ignore the chair by the bathroom door, knocked over on it’s side. He made his way to their room across the hall, sliding the key card into the slot and pushing open the door.

Niall stumbled through the doorway immediately, his body shaking. Harry followed close behind, reaching out to hug him again. “Niall, it’s alright, I promi-”

“It’s not okay, Harry, how do you not understand that?” he screamed back, smashing his fist against the wall and facing Harry. “He killed himself. I could have stopped him yesterday, I could have cared more, I could have sat with him and comforted him longer.” He leaned against the wall, forehead pressing against the paint. He reached his arm back and punched the wall again, forming a fist-sized crater. “It’s my fault, Harry, don’t you understand that?”

“Don’t say that,” Harry replied, hesitantly taking a step closer to Niall. “It’s not your fault. He made the decision on his own, you’re not to blame.” Niall shot him a side glance before taking a deep breath and stepping away from the wall. “Promise.”

“He’s right, Niall,” Liam piped up from one of the beds. “There’s no way you could have stopped him.” Zayn gave a noise of agreement from where he was under the blankets, and Louis nodded, eyebrows furrowed. ‘ _Is he okay?_ ’ he mouthed at Harry, who slowly shook his head.

Niall took a deep breath before turning towards the bathroom. “I’m going to be sick,” he said, throwing open the door and slamming it behind him. Harry looked down at his feet, then back up at Liam and Louis, looks of concern plastered on both of their faces. He shrugged before slipping his boots off and sitting back down on his and Niall’s bed, forcing himself to think of something other than the pain Niall was in.

 

He didn’t have to distract himself for too long before he heard a choked cry from the bathroom. He was going to brush it off until he heard it again, louder and sounding more like his name than a generic yell. The third shout was what got Harry to launch himself out of his bed, running to the bathroom and pushing open the door to find Niall curled up on the floor, his back against the wall.

“Harry,” he said in between gasps. “I can’t breathe, I don’t want to die, Harry, ohmygod I don’t want to die,” he cried.

Harry’s eyes went wide, not totally sure how to respond. “Are-are you okay?” he stuttered out, scanning the bathroom sink to make sure there weren’t any empty pill bottles anywhere.

“I don’t know, I can’t breathe,” Niall choked out. “It might - sh-t.” He coughed violently before rolling onto his side and propping himself up just enough so he could throw up onto the tile. He coughed again before spitting and scooting over to the wall, sitting up against it. The second he gained balance, he started spewing apologies to Harry as tears ran down his flushed cheeks.

  
“Niall. Listen to me. You’re not going to die. Come here, babe.” He held his arms out as he seated himself on the floor against the shower, softly speaking to Niall as he walked over and sat down in between Harry’s legs. “Try to match my breaths,” he suggested, wrapping his arms around Niall and pulling him closer. “You’ll be okay, I promise.” With that, Niall leaned his head against Harry’s chest and tried to slow his breathing. He shut his eyes and focused on the rise and fall of Harry’s chest and how safe he felt in his boyfriend’s arms. As Harry continued to press kisses to the top of Niall’s head and whisper reassurances in his ear, Niall felt himself drifting off to sleep. And for once, he was more than happy to be falling asleep on a bathroom floor.

 

+++

 

Waking up in a bed next to his nearly naked boyfriend and a plate full of warm cinnamon rolls was a great way to wake up, Niall decided. Harry looked over at him when he yawned, a smile playing on his lips.

“You’re awake,” he grinned, swallowing his bite of cinnamon roll. “How do you feel?”

Niall pushed back his hair and sat up in bed, reaching for one of the multiple pastries on the plate. “Alright, I guess. I have a dull headache, though.”

“That’s not surprising considering what happened yesterday,” Harry replied, laughing as Niall got cream cheese icing on the tip of his nose. “That was rough, are you sure you’re fine?”

Niall nodded as he took another bite. “‘M fine now, just sorry that you had to deal with me.”

Harry leaned in to lick the icing off of Niall’s nose, eyes widening when he heard a loud shout of “Get your own room!” from the floor. A rather grumpy Louis looked up at them from the couch, shaking his head and mumbling something about ‘food kinks.’

“It didn’t bother me,” Harry finally answered. “I’m glad I was there for you.”

Niall blushed and swallowed the last bite of his cinnamon roll before beaming at Harry. “I’m glad, too.”

 

The next few moments were filled with comfortable silence until there was an impossibly loud yawn from the other bed and a call for Liam, the calls getting progressively louder when there wasn’t a reply.

“Your boy toy went out to get you and him some breakfast since _someone_ didn’t bring any back for us,” Louis sighed, throwing a glance at Harry.

Zayn chuckled softly. “He’s so great,” he said before his head hit the pillow again.

As if on cue, Liam re-entered the room with three takeout boxes stacked in his hand. He handed one to Louis and brought the other two with him to his bed, causing Zayn to sit up and yawn loudly (again).

 

“I’ve got breakfast food and news,” he started. “First off, they’ve closed off the first two floors of the building and you can’t go down there without a mask on. The guy who served me the oatmeal said that we’d be having a meeting sometime later today as well.”

Zayn sighed. “You mean to tell me that out of everything there, you got me oatmeal?”

“There’s more important things here than your breakfast preferences,” Liam said. “But of course I didn’t get you oatmeal, what kind of a boyfriend do you think I am?”

  
+++

 


	4. the middle; part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "but when the world is falling apart, nothing stays fine for long."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is also kinda short, it was too long to add to the previous chapter but it wouldn't fit in with the next chapter. so yay

Considering the circumstances, Niall would have considered it to be a good day, so far. The sun was streaming in through their window and pooling on the floor, casting a warm glow upon the room, and he and the rest of the boys hadn’t been forced into any meetings. Louis had pulled out a deck of cards and started up a game of poker in the morning, Harry started up a lengthy conversation about music in which everyone discovered Liam could beatbox, and Niall and Harry went up to the 71st floor, found a secluded area, and made out.

 

But, when the world is falling apart, nothing stays fine for long.

 

Niall and Harry had returned from their adventure on the 71st floor with lunch for them and the rest of the boys at around one, only to find that their room was empty save for Louis.

“Where have you guys been? They called for a meeting ten minutes ago,” he asked, pulling on his shoes.

Harry set the food down on the dresser. “We were... out. Why aren’t you there?”

“I was waiting for you two morons, that’s why. Come on, they said it was important,” he answered, walking in between them towards the door, shooting them a glance. Niall sighed before grabbing Harry’s hand and following Louis out into the hall and towards the elevator.

“Aren’t there meeting halls on the lower floors?” Harry asked as Louis tapped the button with a 50 engraved on it.

Louis clicked his tongue. “They’ve shut down floors one through twenty-five. Me and Liam went exploring while you were out and while Zayn was asleep and they’ve got the access door to the twenty-fourth floor sealed completely. The sign said it was to keep us isolated from the disease or something, even though you could still take the elevators down,” he shrugged as the doors opened on the 50th floor.

 

They were greeted by a hallway packed with people - there was barely room for them to get off of the elevator. People had their room doors open and were inviting people in to sit, there were a few people on each other’s backs, anything and everything to squeeze into the tiny hall. At the end, there was a man with a megaphone standing on a chair with an incredibly serious look on his face. The bags under his eyes were unlike anything Niall had seen, and judging by the way his jaw was set, this wasn't going to be a good meeting.

“You alright?” Harry asked, suddenly aware of the death grip Niall had on his hand.

Niall immediately loosened his grip, face flushing. “Yeah, sorry, didn’t mean to, it’s just...”

“It’s alright,” Harry reassured, placing his other hand on Niall’s waist. “If my hand gets squeezed off my anyone, I’m honored for it to be squeezed off by you.”

Niall chuckled. It was at times like this that he was especially thankful that he had Harry in his life.

 

“Can we get everyone’s attention?” the man called from the end of the hallway. “This is incredibly important to our survival, so if everyone would kindly be quiet, that’d be excellent.”

A hush fell over the crowd at the phrase ‘important to our survival,’ and he smiled before carrying on.

“If you don't know who I am, my name is Simon, and I was put in charge of this... _relief effort_." He cleared his throat before continuing. "As most of you probably know now, the situation is getting even worse. Being the only people in safety, it’s our duty to help those who are subject to dying.” An uncomfortable mutter arose from the crowd as Simon continued speaking. “We’ve made an executive decision to give you all training and proper equipment so you can go out and help people take refuge or make their death a little less painful.”

Niall’s heart was beating faster by the minute, and he stood on his tiptoes to whisper in Harry’s ear. “Are they serious?” Harry slowly nodded in response, his eyes focused on Simon.

“We realize that this could be a complete failure. We realize that it might not help. But it’s the least we can do. There are people out there who could survive this, and we’re going to train you so that you can save survivors.”

“You’re sending us as sacrifices!” someone yelled, a dark-haired boy somewhere in the middle of the hallway.

There was a holler of agreement, fists raising in the air.

“You’re not sacrifices. You’re saviors,” Simon said, scarily calm. “We’re going to do our best to make sure that you don’t die in the process.”

“What if we do?” someone else shouted from directly behind Niall, who pressed himself into Harry’s side.

There was a pause as Simon brought the megaphone to his mouth. “If you die?” Another pause. “Then you’ll die.”

 

Silence.

 

“We’re going to go through quick instructions, and then we’ll be distributing hazmat suits to everyone afterward. Is that a plan?” There was a dull mumble of agreement as Simon nodded.

“Alright. Your two main jobs are to clear out the deceased and to save the survivors with a partner of your choice, unless you’re working in the hospital area, which we’ll discuss later. Anyway, clearing out the deceased will be easy. You and your partner will pick them up by their arms and feet and carry them to the nearest street corner, where a truck will be by to collect the bodies and dump them in a collective grave. Questions?”

Niall violently shook his head into Harry’s chest, unwilling to look up. He was processing the information, but the only thing he could focus on was the constant beating of Harry’s heart.

“If there aren’t questions, we’ll move on. Survivors are going to be a little more difficult, and you’re going to have to judge who’s still healthy enough to possibly recover. Failure to make the correct decision could end up with everyone in the hospital dead.” He paused for the inevitable murmur that passed over the crowd. “If they don’t pass your standards for recovery, walk with them towards the street corner and I guarantee they’ll die along the way. It’s suicide stepping foot outside. However, if they do seem healthy enough to recover, you’ll hand them a gas mask and escort them outside, to the end of their driveway. A bus will be coming around, following the truck full of the deceased, and it’ll take in anyone who could survive.”

“How often will the buses be coming around?” a boy shouted.

Simon sighed. “That’s the thing. We don’t know. They could come around every ten minutes or they could come by every hour. The gas masks we’ll be giving the possible survivors are only effective for a half hour, so it’s possible that they won’t survive after all. If they do survive, they’ll be taken to Guy’s Hospital, where they will be treated accordingly.” He paused. “Any questions?”

There was a collective “no,” and Simon directed everyone to return to their rooms and await the hazmat suits. Needless to say, Niall made a beeline for the elevator, squeezing Harry’s hand for dear life.

Thankfully, Louis made it in with them as well as the elevator descended. People got off at just about every floor, making it easier for the three of them to get off at 36. As Harry stepped out, he shouted a quick “good luck” over his shoulder, earning a few “thank you”s back.

 

“So,” Louis started as he pulled out his card and slid it through the reader. “This is it, huh?” He pushed the door open with his shoulder with a grunt. “Like. This is it.”

Niall collapsed onto his bed, trying to not think about it. “I guess,” he replied half-heartedly.

“Try not to think about it, alright?” Harry softly spoke, sitting down next to Niall. “I’ll be with you. We’ll be partners. We’ll go through it together.”

 _But what if one us doesn’t make it back?_ Niall thought. He could never have the strength to say it aloud, to acknowledge the thought. He looked up at Harry and saw the same pain in Harry’s green eyes, the same thought, the same worry. “We’ve got this,” he said instead, choosing to ignore the elephant in the room.

 

The door opened as Liam and Zayn walked in, hand-in-hand and looking every bit as hopeless as Niall felt. “I can’t believe this,” Liam breathed as he sat down on the floor, Zayn lying down to lay his head in Liam’s lap. “It’s like that one kid said. We’re sacrifices.”

They sat in silence for a while, realizing that this might be their last day together and alive. It was a scary thought, and Niall was glad to be interrupted by Harry lying down next to him to whisper in his ear.

“Are you as scared as I am?”

Niall bit his lip. “Probably.” He took a deep breath. “Like... what if this is our last...” His voice trailed off as he choked back tears, and Harry put a finger to Niall’s lips.

“Hey, don’t say that. There’s a good chance that this won’t be our last day. If it helps, we’re going to be right beside each other until we die. And there’s no doubt in my mind that we’re going together. I’m not letting you leave before me.”

“And I’m sure as hell not letting you leave before me,” Niall replied. He reached for Harry’s hand, craving for some kind of comfort and affection, and Harry held it on his waist, letting Niall’s fingers press into his hips.

 

There was a sharp knock on the door and Louis was the one to open it, since he was the only one not tangled up with another.

"How many are in your room?" a voice asked from outside, a female, this time.

"5," Louis answered as Liam and Zayn stood up. Harry and Niall slowly sat up as well, waiting as long as possible to get their suits.

"If everyone could please come out into the hallway for sizing, that'd be great," the girl said, already pulling suits out of a box sitting on a luggage cart.

They filed into a line outside of their door, holding their arms out as they were instructed. One by one, the girl held up a suit in front of each of them and checked the arm and leg lengths.

"Funny, I didn't think girl staffers existed," Liam commented as she made her way down the line.

"I was recruited to do this, technically. They sent half of the girls to the hospital, and I was one of them. They hauled me back over here when they realized they had more tasks than people to do them."

Louis looked up at the mention of working in the hospital. "Will they allow guys to work in the hospital?"

"They better," the girl said, chuckling. "There's so few of us there. You can finish this floor with me and we can go see Paul about it - he's in charge of that. I hope you realize it won't be any easier than collecting bodies, though."

"Are you really going to leave us, Louis?" Niall asked, trying to forget the fact that this could be his last time with Louis.

Louis nodded. "Sorry, personal preference, I guess. I'd rather help heal people instead of help bury them. Especially with my sisters and all, I don't want to risk coming across their bodies."

The girl stopped adjusting Harry's suit and looked at Louis, eyes full of sympathy. "I understand... Louis, is it? I'm so sorry about your sisters. I hate that they split up siblings and relationships. It makes this so much harder to deal with."

Louis' nodded, glad that someone else understood what he felt. "It's alright..." He faltered where her name should be.

"Eleanor," she said, a small smile forming on her lips as she finished with Harry, leaving all four boys with hazmat suits draped in their arms. She then reached down into another box and pulled out five walkie-talkies, handing one to each boy. "Channel 1 is for communication back to here, and it's recommended that you keep it there. But you can always change it to another channel to keep in contact with each other, if you want. It'll make the job slightly better, promise." She took a breath before closing up the boxes. "You didn't hear that from me, though."

"Oh, before you leave - where might I find Paul?" Louis asked, turning his room key over in his hands.

"Just follow me. I still need to finish these last few rooms, but we'll find him after. Also," she continued, turning her attention back to the other four, "be ready to head out at five o’clock, which is in about two hours. And before I forget, there's a lock pick in the left breast pocket of the suits which you'll need quite a bit." With that and a small wave, she and Louis continued down the hallway, with Louis looking more than happy to assist her.

 

“Two hours, huh?” Liam asked as they walked back into their room, hazmat suits draped over their arms.

“I guess so, yeah,” Harry replied, carefully laying his suit down on the bed before walking over to the window and staring out at the skyline, Niall closely following, trying to swallow the bile rising in his throat.

Liam unfolded his suit and held it out in front of him at arm’s length. “Well,” he said, barely louder than a whisper. “It’s been a pleasure knowing you, boys.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also - i have one more part for "the middle" that should be up in 2-3 weeks? maybe? and then i think there's going to be two more chapters and it'll be done! this is by far the longest fic i've ever written not gonna lie, hope you're enjoying it!


	5. the middle; part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part 4; "yeah, as long as i've got you, i'll be fine."

When he was growing up, Niall was always told not to worry about death. He was constantly reassured that it would be peaceful and that it would be natural and that it would happen when it was supposed to. Every time a family member or a family friend died, his mom would remind him that death is nothing to be afraid of.

 

And he had believed it until now.

 

He was sitting on the bus, squished into a seat with Harry, staring out the window at the wilted flowers, brown shrubbery, and the dead bodies of both humans and animals littering the ground like cigarette butts. Paths of blood would lead to someone face-down on a porch or a front lawn, car doors would be left open as someone slouched from their seat to the pavement, still buckled in.

But, for some reason, he couldn’t quite turn away. It was so surreal, seeing the world at such a stand-still. There wasn’t even a bird in the sky as the bus pulled over alongside of the road and Simon stood up with a megaphone.

“When I call your name, stand up with your partner. I’ll assign you both to a 1 kilometer by 1 kilometer area to start, there won’t be time to do more by the time the sun sets. When the sun _does_ start to set, come back to this exact spot and we’ll be by to pick you up. Questions?” When there was no reply, Simon started to call names.

Naturally, Niall zoned out. There were still about 40 people who would be called before him, so he rested his head on Harry’s shoulder and tried to focus on his heartbeat as opposed to all of the lifeless bodies outside. “Can’t kiss you through your suit, can I?” he asked, looking up at Harry.

Harry chuckled, shaking his head. “Afraid not,” he answered, leaning down to bump the top of Niall’s suit with his own. “That’ll have to do, I guess.”

Niall’s name was called before he could reply, and he stood up slowly with Harry by his side. They walked to the front of the bus, where Simon handed them a piece of paper. There was a map printed on it, with red dotted lines and a green box, and Simon explained that they would follow the red line to the green box, which was their area. Harry thanked him as they stepped off the bus.

Another group followed behind them, and there was a slight _creak_ as the doors to the bus shut again, driving off. “Zayn and Liam...” Niall started, eyes following the bus as it turned off of the street. “We can’t do it with them.”

Harry grabbed Niall’s hand and they started walking, following the map to where they needed to go. “We’ve got each other, though, right?”

Niall could barely understand him through the static on the walkie-talkie, but he nodded. “Right.” He paused, taking a breath. “Where d’ya suppose Louis is?”

“He’s probably at the hospital,” Harry suggested. “Dunno if we’ll get to see him tonight or not.” He pulled Niall across the street, sighing as he turned the map in his hands. “Few more blocks,” he added.

 

The rest of the walk was silent. There wasn’t much to say, though - what _can_ you say when you’ve been bused out into the suburbs of London to throw dead bodies on street corners?

“You ready?” Harry asked, looking over at Niall as they approached the first house. Niall nodded, despite the fact that _no,_ he wasn’t ready, and he was pretty sure he never would be.

Harry knocked on the door with enough force to knock it down, so when there was no response, he decided it was safe to assume everyone in the house was dead. He brought out the lock pick in the suit pocket and stuck it into the keyhole, hearing the lock click open almost immediately.

“Is anyone there?” he called, pushing open the door and stepping inside to peek down the hallway and into rooms.

Niall followed him timidly. “Guess nobody is. Do we just leave?”

Harry puckered his lips in thought, and Niall tried to ignore his sudden, overwhelming urge to kiss him. “No, Simon said we had to collect the bodies, yeah?”

Reluctantly, Niall followed Harry throughout the house, cursing under his breath. He peered into rooms, but honestly, he didn’t see the point - _they were already dead, right?_

 

“Found ‘em,” Harry spoke, voice almost void of emotion. “There’s two. Can you throw one over your shoulder?” he asked, avoiding eye contact with Niall.

“Sure,” he answered, bending down to pick up one of the bodies. With a deep breath and mild difficulty, he stood up with the body slung over his shoulder. “What now?”

Harry sighed, keeping his eyes on the floor. “Take them to the corner, I guess. Then we just go to the next house.” Without another word, he made his way towards the door with Niall following close behind.

 

Halfway to the corner, he felt the body slipping from his grasp. With a _crack_ , the body hit the pavement, earning a wide-eyed look of disbelief from Harry. “The suit, I couldn’t move in time, I couldn’t bend my arm and-”

“Just pick them up,” Harry interrupted, his expression a little softer.

Niall bent down to grab the body, not worrying about putting it over his shoulder and instead opting for a bridal-style carry, which was _weird_ , considering their head was now bent at a rather extraordinary angle. “At least they didn’t feel the pain of their neck being snapped, yeah?”

Harry just shoots a look back at Niall, and Niall’s afraid he’s crossed the line (he knows how Harry can get when it comes to death and helping those who can’t help themselves) but Harry cracks a small smile and shakes his head, and Niall knows he’s fine.

Harry grunted as he slides the body from his shoulder onto the already-established pile on the corner, taking a deep breath as he steps back. Niall took time to actually set his body down - he already let them fall from five and a half feet, and he decides nobody needs to go through that a second time, dead _or_ alive.

“This is...” Harry started, chewing on his bottom lip. “A little sick. Just a little. Don’t you think?”

Niall just nods in agreement, even though ‘a little’ to him seems like the biggest understatement of the year. He doesn’t have time to reply, anyway, because just like that, Harry’s turned around and is walking back down the street.

 

They enter the second house and find that it’s empty. They thoroughly search the house from top to bottom _twice_ , and there’s no sign of life anywhere. With a relieved sigh, Harry walked back outside, Niall closely following.

“If only all of them were like that,” Harry stated, already walking towards the next house.

“You can say that again,” Niall responded, jogging slightly to catch up with Harry.

“Ni, do you wanna take the next one?”

Niall forced himself to keep walking. “Nah, I’m n-”

“Cool, thanks. Experience always helps,” Harry grinned, patting Niall’s shoulder as they reach the bottom of the front steps. Niall shot him a look before heading up the stairs and opening up the lock picking set. After a few seconds of struggling and a tease from Harry, the knob jiggled open, and Niall cautiously stepped inside.

There was a faint noise from the kitchen, and Niall felt his heart pound against his ribs as he neared the sound, wishing Harry had taken the lead on this. He walked into the pristine kitchen to find a man leaning against the counter, chest heaving with every breath.

“Hello?” Niall asked, waving Harry over. “Sir, are you alright?”

The man nodded slowly, mumbling something under his breath as Harry stepped beside Niall.

“Is there anyone else in the house?” Harry asked, this time getting a shake of the head and a mumble from the man.

“Alright, so we, uh, we were sent here to get you to a sick bay to give you a chance at recovery-”

He sprang to life at that, reaching across the counter to grab a large knife, startling both Harry and Niall. “Get away from me!” he shouted, holding the knife in front of him, staring down Harry. “You take one more step and I’ll throw it. And that’s a promise.”

Harry held up both of his hands in front of him in a surrender. “I’m s-sorry, we’re just doing our job, mate.” He took a step back, and Niall felt his chest tighten as the guy only stepped closer.

“Do your job somewhere else,” he demanded, blood starting to drip from the corners of his mouth. “Take care of some other _mate_.” His hands were shaking and his breathing became fast and ragged, and Niall prayed they wouldn’t have to put up a fight for much longer.

“But sir, we-”

“Leave, dammit!” He brought the knife up to throat-level and lunged at Niall, who sidestepped the man and ran into a glass display case, which promptly shattered. Niall whined in panic, and Harry stepped in between him and the man, bending down to grab a sizeable piece of glass.

“You don’t scare me,” Harry deadpanned. Niall would have thought he was telling the truth if it hadn’t been for Harry’s death grip on his hand.

The man took a few steps back, eyes still bugging and knife still in hand, but lower. “You sh.... you should be... you bas-”

He was cut off as he dropped to the floor, coughing, sending the knife skittering across the floor. Harry turned to Niall, uttering a “finally” before turning his attention back to the man, who was shaking violently, shouting and scratching at his arms. Just as Niall was about to leave, he stopped suddenly, his expression frozen in one of surprise and an eerie silence covering the room.

 

“C’mon,” Harry said, placing a hand on Niall’s shoulder, starting to walk towards the door.

Niall followed, but with eyebrows furrowed. “Shouldn’t we take-”

“You really want to spend energy hauling that dick to the corner? Baby, he threatened you. He’s not worth anything to me.”

“Yeah, we can always say that he died after we came, right?”

Harry opened the door for Niall, patting him on the back as he left. “Of course, Ni.”

“Speaking of, how many more houses do we have? I don’t have the energy to do that again, I’m sorr-”

“One more house, yeah?” Harry asked, turning around to face Niall. “One more house and we can take a break. Three is a good number to stop at.” He chuckled softly and reached for Niall’s hand as they continued forward to the next driveway.

They walked down in comfortable silence, or as comfortable as a silence can be under the circumstances. As they approached the front door, Niall was able to see that it was opened and he prayed that they wouldn’t encounter another person who had completely lost their mind.

 

“Is anyone here?” Harry called out, pushing open the door to the small garden home. Somewhere off to their right, they heard a girl’s shout. “Where are you?” he asked again.

“Right here,” the girl said again, raising a hand. As the two rushed over to her, they saw she was lying on the couch, a rather serene look on her face save for the blood she had slowly dripping from her nose. “What might you be here for?” Her voice was hoarse, and as much as Niall didn’t want to break the news to her, he knew he had to.

“Um, we’re just going to go for a short walk, is, uh, is that alright?” He hated how shaky his voice was and silently cursed himself when she furrowed her eyebrows and brushed a strand of long, blonde hair out of her face.

“Not out in that mess, right?”

Niall and Harry exchanged a look before Harry spoke up. “Ma’am, we hate to be the bearers of bad news, but you’re already dying. We have to take you to where they can bury you.” Niall’s jaw dropped at how brutally honest Harry was, but he was even more surprised at the girl’s reaction.

“‘Mm. Alright. Figured it’d happen sooner or later.” She stood up slowly, grabbing onto Harry’s arm for balance. Niall stepped alongside her to hold her up as well, and they carefully left through the front door and worked their way down the steps.

“You need us to carry you, miss?” Harry asked when they reached the bottom of the stairs, pausing so she could breathe. She nodded weakly, and Harry wasted no time in sweeping her into his arms bridal style before continuing down the street.

“Sorry,” she breathed, reaching a hand out to Niall, who gently held it as Harry carried her. He could feel the heat radiating through his gloves, and his heart broke for her.

“You’re extraordinarily calm,” Harry commented. “Nobody’s been willing to leave, they all resist to acknowledge the fact they’re dying.”

The girl took a deep breath, a soft smile crossing her lips. “My family’s already gone, I've accepted it.” She closed her eyes before jerking her hand from Niall’s grasp and kicking at Harry, who quickly let her back down to the ground. She dropped to her knees and promptly threw up onto the sidewalk, coughing as she struggled to get back up. “How much farther is it?”

Niall threw her arm around his shoulder to steady her as he pointed to the end of the street. “Right there...” He trailed off as he looked at her, drawing a blank where her name would fit.

“Perrie,” she said, smiling briefly as Harry picked her back up again, and Niall once again took her hand. “It’s sad, really. All of these people, just gone.”

Niall squeezed her hand. “Awful, yeah. And we can’t stop it, either.”

“How’s it feel to...” She coughed violently, Harry struggling to keep her in his arms. “to know that you can’t _really_ help anyone?” Perrie continued after she caught her breath again.

“Heartbreaking,” Harry answered simply as they reached the street corner. “People like you deserve to live, really,” he added as she stood on her own again.

Perrie smiled again, and Niall felt his stomach turn as she coughed again, blood staining her hand as she took it away from her mouth. “Thank you,” she whispered, leaning in to hug both Harry and Niall before she sat down on the concrete. “It was lovely talking to you.”

“You too,” Harry replied, slowly starting to turn around and walk away. Niall opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off by more violent coughing, and she vomited once more before falling face-first onto the concrete, eyes closed and mouth hanging open.

 

Niall shuddered and spun around, jogging to catch up with Harry, collapsing against the nearest mailbox. “I can’t do this,” he repeated under his breath, closing his eyes.

Harry dropped down beside him, placing a hand on Niall’s waist and the other on his shoulder. “You can. Niall, you can do this, I know you can. Look at me.” Niall tilted his head forward and opened his eyes, and Harry smiled faintly. “Don’t you dare leave me now, Niall. We have to go through this together. I can’t do this without you. I wouldn’t make it if I had to do this alone. We’ve got to be here for each other, alright?”

“Mmhmm.” Niall slowly nodded, trying to control his breathing. “Can we stop for a while? Please?”

Harry exhaled and rolled over onto his back on the grass next to Niall, staring up at the overcast sky. “Baby, I’m yours...” Harry started softly singing, voice slow and steady as he looked over at Niall. “And I’ll be yours until the stars fall from the sky...”

Niall closed his eyes as he laid down with his head on Harry’s stomach. “You’re a sap, Haz. Keep going.”

“Yours, until the rivers all run dry...” A smile appeared on Niall’s lips, and Harry couldn’t help but smile himself. “In other words, until I die.”

“Unless I go first,” Niall interrupted, earning a slap from Harry on the arm.

“You’re ruining it,” Harry grinned, holding back a laugh at the face Niall was giving him. “Where was I?”

Niall turned his head back up to the sky. “I’m gonna stay right here, by your side...”

“Do my best to keep you satisfied.”

“Nothing in the world could drive me away,” Niall slowly sung.

“Cause every day, you’ll hear me say... baby, I’m yours.”

Niall reached up for Harry’s hand, ever so thankful that Harry always seemed to know exactly what to do when he was panicked or anxious or anything of the sort. “I think I’m fine,” he said after a few seconds.

“You sure?”

  
His heart wasn’t in it in the slightest, but he knew he had to do it. “Yeah. As long as I’ve got you, I’ll be fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took ages to post, and to be quite honest, there was literally just one scene that i was sitting on for two months. i blame school and my crippling lack of motivation. 
> 
> this is also the last part of "the middle." there's still more to come, but it doesn't exactly fit under "middle." hopefully the next parts won't take as long to write, but thank you if you've actually stuck around to read this and thank you if you've left kudos. bless. i love u.


	6. the end; part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “there had been sort of an unspoken belief that being part of the relief team made you immune, somehow, that allowed them to cope with what they were doing. that had come crashing down in the past few hours, leaving each one of them with the knowledge that they could be next.”

The next morning, there’s a significant lack of liveliness in their room. The curtains aren’t pulled back as normal, and there’s no faint music coming from the bathroom and steam escaping through the crack beneath the door as the shower ran. Niall always found it comforting and so very  _ Louis _ . Sure, the sun blinded him some mornings and the music kept him from falling back asleep, but it made it feel like they were five friends staying in a hotel while out gallivanting around the city, day after day. 

Niall slowly swings his legs out of bed, careful not to wake Harry. He peers around the room, trying to see if Louis is still sleeping. However, he finds the couch folded up and the space that Louis claimed completely clean, only a piece of paper left on the couch cushion. Niall tiptoes over to the couch, squinting to read the note in the dim light. Curious, he walks over to the window, slightly pushing the curtain back to get some light. Eyebrows furrowed, he reads the note, thankful that Louis at least thought to do so before leaving.

 

_ to all: _

_ it’s currently 2:30 a.m. and paul insisted that we all stay confined to the hospital. i haven’t gotten a wink of sleep in the past day - it’s so busy here, i’m surprised he let us come back to our rooms to gather our things.  _

_ i hate having to say goodbye like this, really. you lot are the best mates that anyone could ask for in an apocalypse, and i mean it. so thank you, and i wish you the best. _

__ \- louis tomlinson _ _

 

 

Niall lets the note fall to the floor, jaw slack as he sinks to the floor as well. Sure, Louis is still alive, but there’s a slim chance of seeing him again. He knows that separation had always been a possibility, but he just didn’t think it’d happen to them. 

Liam is the next one to wake up, immediately taking notice of Niall sitting by the window and the cleanliness of the couch area. He walks over to Niall, rubbing his eyes before crouching down, grabbing the note. 

“Oh.”

Niall only nods in response, staring at the floor.

“Wonder if we’ll be able to see him again,” Liam muses, voice still gravelly from just waking up. “Where  _ is  _ the hospital, anyway?”

Niall raises an eyebrow. “Guy’s, right?” 

“Mm.” Niall looks up to read Liam’s expression, but it’s about as indecipherable as his response. “Could we make it there after busing one day?”

Niall admires Liam’s determination to properly say goodbye to Louis; it almost makes him chuckle. Almost. “Probably, not sure if they’d let us in, though. Worth a shot, right?”

“What’s that?” 

Harry’s question startles Liam and Niall, both of whom were too distracted to notice Harry coming up behind them. 

“Louis’ gone,” Liam states, handing Harry the note with a brief explanation of their plan to visit Louis. Harry nods before handing the note back.

“Maybe before busing would be better? What if we said Louis forgot something here?” Harry asks, taking a seat next to Liam.

Zayn’s bed creaks as he rolls over to face them. “Won’t let you in,” he said. “Tried to see if any of my sisters were there, wouldn’t let me through the doors. Too dangerous.” With that, he rolls back over, pulling the duvet around him.

Harry takes Louis’ note back, standing up and walking over to a piece of art hanging on the wall. He holds the note in his mouth as he takes the painting down and leans it against the wall, then pokes the nail through the note, hanging it up. “Perfect,” he mumbles, falling back into bed, facing away from Niall and Liam.

“Not like we could forget him,” Liam says, a soft smile on his lips. “Gonna miss him.”

“Yeah, definitely,” Niall replies. “Hope he’ll be alright.”

 

+++

 

Days pass, each one just like the other: early wake up calls, carrying bodies from homes for hours, returning to the hotel for soup, and recollecting in the room, just to fall asleep near eleven and do it all over again. Nothing significant happens to set one day apart from the other, really, it all kind of turns into a blur.

 

Except that one night, Liam doesn’t come back.

 

Harry and Niall finish their soup, take showers, and settle into bed early, not minding that Zayn wasn’t there. They’d all had nights where they’d had to stay out longer or nights where they just wanted to wander the halls to get different views. Besides, right as Niall is drifting off, Harry already snoring in his ear, he hears Zayn come in and watches his shadowed figure collapse onto the other bed. It’s then that Niall can breathe easier and that he finally falls asleep.

Easy breathing isn’t the standard when the world is ending, though. It’s an exception rather than a rule, and when Niall wakes up to find that Liam still isn’t in their room, his breaths become shallower as his mind jumps to worst case scenarios. Even Harry’s soft noises as he wakes up do nothing to comfort Niall.

“Zayn?” he asks, noticing in the soft light that Zayn is right where he was when Niall saw him come in last night. He looks incredibly pale, and Niall swears he sees the glistening of tear tracks on his cheeks. He repeats Zayn’s name when he doesn’t reply, growing more worried by the second.

Harry sits up behind Niall, yawning and rubbing his eyes. “Zayn, mate, where were you last night?”

“I had to carry him away,” he replies, barely audible, voice cracking on ‘him’. 

 

Silence.

 

“I’m so sorry,” Harry says slowly, barely above a whisper, eyes glazed over and mouth hanging open as he processes it all.

Niall doesn’t say anything - he  _ can’t  _ say anything, tears starting to fall as he sits in stunned silence. He remembers how gentle and kind Liam was when they were first roomed together, how he was willing to sleep on the floor from then-until-whenever if it meant Zayn got the bed, how head over heels in love they were, how Liam finally opened up when Niall caught him writing a song. Liam just didn’t deserve it, really, not that anyone else did, but  _ especially  _ not Liam. Not their Liam.

 

There’s a tense silence in the room for the rest of the morning. Zayn’s still laying on his side of the bed, leaving Liam’s side untouched, reaching up to wipe away tears every once in a while. Niall and Harry are sitting apart, Niall focused on his journal and Harry sorting through a small box of pictures that he had taken from his house. Of course, nobody’s as calm as they appear, and the way that they all jump at the ringing of the telephone is enough to prove it. Zayn nearly falls out of bed in an attempt to get to the phone, and the way that his face falls when it’s Simon telling him about a meeting, not about Liam’s sudden revival or something, makes Niall’s heart break.

They all file out of the room into the hallway, which is scarily empty. Niall’s sure that everyone’s out of their rooms, otherwise Simon wouldn’t already be standing on a chair, megaphone in hand. He guesses there’s around 100 people, and judging by Harry’s partially gaping mouth, he’s noticed the same.

“I feel it important to tell you that we’re all that’s left,” Simon plainly states after getting everyone’s attention. “Last night, a nurse got contaminated due to improper protection and it spread to the rest of the staff and patients. There were no survivors.” He steps down from the chair, retreating to his room, failing to give any further instruction.

Niall turns to look at Harry and then at Zayn, all three exchanging glances. “Louis...” Harry finally whispers, eyes glazed over. “We never said goodbye.”

 

+++

 

Later that night, the three are sitting on Harry’s bed, still in a shocked, uncomfortable silence, shirts stained with tears that haven’t stopped coming for hours. It all feels like a joke, really, or that it should be. The most selfless and the most lively, gone in a heartbeat, succumbed to the illness that nobody can seem to stop. There had been sort of an unspoken belief that being part of the relief team made you immune, somehow, that allowed them to cope with what they were doing. That had come crashing down in the past few hours, leaving each one of them with the knowledge that they could be next. It’s a lot to process, and instead of working through it, everyone chooses to ignore it. Trying to push aside this elephant, Niall focuses on the weight of Harry’s head on his thigh and the curve of his jaw.

“D’ya think we can save the world, Niall?” Harry asks with a soft chuckle. “Us three and the ninety or so others. That’d make headlines, wouldn’t it?”

Niall smiles, but shakes his head. “Do any of us know how to print newspapers?”

“So we  _ could  _ save the world?”

“I’d like to think so.”

Harry smiles, eyes still closed as he grabs Niall’s hand and kisses it. “Thank you,” he says. Niall waits for an explanation, but when he gets none, he brings his hand back to Harry’s hair. 

  
“You’re welcome,” he replies, for lack of anything else to say. He knows that Harry meant the thanks in a profound, meaningful way - something to do with their survival thus far and the imminent end of humanity, but Niall’s content with the meaning simply being that he thinks they could save the world. That’s a lot nicer thing to think about, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow! i suck at updating! but anyway, the beginning of the end. i think this will end up being 4 parts in total, 9 chapters in all. hopefully, since it's coming to an end and i've been feeling more inspired, this will be fully published by the end of the year (it's about time, really).


	7. the end; part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. We were gonna save the world.”

The sound of a loud siren wakes Harry and Niall, both expecting the worst as they climbed out of bed and located their clothes in the dim light of their room. With slight groans and a muffled “g’morning, babe,” the two make it out of their room to see Simon already working to hand out suits and get people out into the field.

“Doesn’t seem like we’ll be eating breakfast today,” Harry sighs, lightly nudging Niall with his shoulder.

Niall shakes his head. “I’d be more disappointed if I had an appetite.” Harry just smiles and accepts his suit from Simon, eyeing the line of people boarding the bus. “Awfully few people, yeah?” Niall asks, stepping next to Harry to help secure the younger’s suit, and Harry doing the same in return.

“Yeah, it’s... scant, to say in the least.” He shrugs as he follows Niall outside, Simon brushing by him with megaphone already in hand.

“Quickly, quickly, we’ve already lost half of everyone we started with, we can’t afford to lose anyone else,” he directs, doing quick inspections as he moves down the line of people loading onto the bus.

Niall turns back towards Harry, his heart beating loudly in his chest. “Half?” He doesn’t want to think too hard on it, trying not to attribute the official death that made it ‘half’ to Louis or Liam.

“”S bad, isn’t it?” Zayn asks, sneaking up behind Harry. Niall can’t help but jump a bit - Zayn’s spoken even less since Liam’s death. He steps onto the bus, only nodding in answer to Zayn’s question, and Harry just gives a “hmm” in response. He doesn’t want to acknowledge their eventual death, really.

 

“This is your last day,” Simon calls out to the remaining group on the bus once everyone’s boarded. “We’re giving our researchers 24 more hours to try and find something. Past today, it’s worthless.” With a quick shake of the head, he starts calling names, staying silent aside from that and quick mutters of ‘good luck’ to those leaving the bus. He calls Harry and Niall off, dropping them off on the corner of what looked like a rather affluent neighborhood.

“I’d suggest we rob some houses as well, but seeing as nobody really exists anymore...” Harry jokes, reaching for Niall’s hand as it starts to rain lightly.

Niall takes his hand and chuckles. “Speak for yourself, Haz. _Some_ of us still wouldn’t mind owning a flat screen.”

Harry laughs and gives Niall the pride of a soft “you’re right, you’re right” before they step into the first house. Once inside, they find four bodies on the floor: a man and woman who look to be in their late 40’s and two young boys, all laid out on the couches that curved around their living room.

“They made it easy for us,” Harry states, throwing the man over his shoulder with a grunt. Niall follows Harry to the door, one of the boys in his arms. “We’ll take them to the end of the driveway and get them later, yeah?”

Niall nods as he follows Harry to the end of the driveway, carefully setting the bodies down. They hurry to bring the other two out, as well, and Niall is surprised when Harry turns to go back inside.

“You think there’s more?”

Harry shakes his head, a small smile on his face. “Course not. It’s our last day, you wanna just... live a bit? It’s raining anyway, makes the job more miserable. C’mon.” He nods towards the front door, Niall eagerly catching up to Harry and following him inside.

 

“What shall we do first?” Harry asks, glancing at the shelves of books, slowly making his way through the living room to the kitchen. “Should we explore?” Niall nods, making his way to the bookshelf and pulling down a book simply labeled _1990-2000_.

Niall opens the front cover, smiling when he sees the first page filled with wedding pictures. There’s a number of candids of both the bride and groom getting ready as well as posed photos with friends, including one of their wedding invitations. He continues through the pages, reliving the couples’ honeymoon in Italy, trips to the beach, multiple Christmases, and the birth of their sons. He chuckles at the captions, things like ‘ _third beach trip together, first time our lunch was stolen by birds, 1992_ ’ and ‘ _a very memorable Christmas: we won’t light the candles next to the garland anymore. 1994._ ’

He calls Harry over to point out some of his favorites, and like a train, the reality of the situation hits him. Tears forming in his eyes, he turns to Harry. “I won’t be able to do any of this,” he says, frowning. “I won’t get married, I won’t go on a honeymoon, I’ll never have kids, I won’t live to see another Christmas...” He rests his head in the crook of Harry’s neck as tears roll down his cheeks, desperately wishing that one, he could get out of this miserable suit, and two, there was even a little hope of survival.

“Kinda unfair, isn’t it?”

“It’s not even unfair for us, like. They’ve got these unfinished albums that they’ll never fill. Their kids won’t get to get married, either. The parents won’t be able to see their grandchildren. They can’t go on any more vacations, go to any more weddings, it’s just done, no warning.”

Harry hums in agreement, patting Niall’s shoulder. “How about we move on? They’ve got a whole second floor to see.”

Niall nods, slowly getting up, Harry following suit. They make their way upstairs, an eerie silence filling the air as they push open the doors.

 

“Kind of weird to have the master upstairs, don’t you think?” Harry said, stepping inside of the spacious room.

Niall shrugged. “I guess? Never given it much thought.” He shuts the door behind him by instinct, Harry chuckling when he does so.

“Don’t want anyone to see what we’re up to?” he teases, laying down on the bed.

Niall laughs as Harry raises an eyebrow. “You have any ideas, Harry?”

“Maybe a few.” He winks playfully, but Niall walks over nonetheless.

“It has been a while since we’ve been alone, huh?” he asks, a slight smirk on his face.

Harry nods. “True, definitely true. Might as well take advantage of this?”

“I would, but you can’t do much with these helmets and suits, yeah?”

“That’s a problem we can fix,” Harry answers, fiddling with the fasteners around the helmet until he slides it off, setting on the floor beside the bed. “You’re worth dying for.”

+++

An hour later, when they’re fully unclothed, breathing heavy with soft smiles on their faces, and covered in a slight sweaty sheen, Harry gets up from the bed and wanders over to a window. “Roof access,” he mumbles, unlatching the window and pushing it open. “Not the prettiest view, but we can’t afford to be choosy.”

Niall grabs a chair from the corner of the room and brings it beneath the window, using it as a step to climb out onto the roof, holding his hand out to Harry.

“Off to Neverland!” he chuckles, striking a Peter Pan-esque pose once Harry joined him.

Harry shakes his head, smiling. “Isn’t this a horrible idea, Niall? We’re gonna die, every part of us is exposed.”

“At least I’ll die with you,” Niall replies, laying down on the roof, one hand behind his head and the other intertwined with Harry’s.

Harry props himself up on his elbows above Niall, leaning down to kiss his jawline. “No better way to go.”

+++

As the sun began to set and the sky turned into a vibrant palette of reds and purples, Niall and Harry climbed back into the room, hoping they’d make it out in time for the bus. Neither of them had kept track of the time, really, but they had decided that time didn’t mean much of anything now. It was all going to end soon, why count down to it?

They leave the house right as the bus pulls away from the corner, which would have been worse if they had been farther away from the lodge. It was only a half mile walk, though, and neither of them minded having more alone time, really. Niall, with renewed spirit, would skip ahead of Harry a few yards, then pause to turn around and hold out his hand for Harry to grab. Harry couldn’t help but chuckle, playing along until they came closer to the lodge.

“Ni, wait up,” Harry moans, swaying slightly on his feet. “Everything’s spinning.”

Niall furrows his eyebrows, heart racing in his chest because this can’t happen to Harry, it just _can’t_. “Are you alright?”

“I think... I think ‘m gonna be sick,” he chokes out, dropping onto his knees.

He watches in horror as Harry, beautiful and lovely and _strong_ Harry, takes off his helmet and bends over, emptying his stomach onto the sidewalk in front of the hotel, steps away from safety. Niall’s blood is frozen in his veins, his brain completely numb, as he sees Harry clutch his stomach and collapse onto the pavement, shouting in pain.

 

Niall wasn’t even aware that he was in the hotel lobby, tossing his helmet to the floor, screaming for help, until two men dressed in red took him by the arms and sat him down by the desk, instructing him to stay calm.

He looks at the clock, desperate for a distraction. 6:57. He wipes away tears he didn’t know were on his cheeks and prays that Harry is still alive, prays that he’ll waltz in with a light smile on his face as he blamed food poisoning or something stupid.

The second hand ticks around slower than Niall thought was possible. 6:58, now, and Harry still hasn’t come in. Then again, neither had the paramedics. Niall persuades himself that they were giving him medicine, CPR, a newly discovered cure, _anything_ to help him recover.

Niall thinks that maybe, if he wishes for it hard enough, it’ll happen. 6:59. His heart rate jumps as the door creaks open, people hurrying inside. Wiping his eyes again, he counts the heavily suited people as they come in. _One. Two._

“Was that your friend?” one asks, piercing through the static shock in Niall’s mind.

He nods weakly, trying to stand before falling to his knees, taking short breaths as tears streaked his cheeks again. “That should have been me, it’s all my fault,” he whimpers, eyes focused on the door, trying not to picture what was beyond it, heart beating rapidly in his chest, hoping that this is some sick, _sick_ joke -

“Coexsus doesn’t pick and choose, kid. C’mon, let’s get up-”

Niall flinches away from the medic’s touch, breathing becoming more erratic. Hot tears drop onto his still-shaking hands, and he can’t find the strength to stand up. He’s not aware that he’s shouting until the two medics tell him to quiet down, and he leans back against the legs of a chair, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes, the pressure in his head making him feel like he’s going to burst.

Both medics reach for his arms, pulling him to his feet before nearly dragging him to the elevator in a desperate attempt to get him out of the lobby. One of the medics heads back outside, leaving Niall collapsed on the other as the elevator ascends to his floor. Niall’s not sure if he’s just crying or if he’s trying to speak coherent sentences - the medic isn’t reacting at all - and really, he’s not sure of anything, except that Harry is gone, and it’s his fault.

Niall doesn’t remember his room number at all, but he’s walked to it enough that he’s able to generally remember where it is. He hands the medic his room key from his pocket, and after trying to get into two rooms that weren’t Niall’s, they finally get to 3617 and Niall collapses the second the door opens. He shoos the medic away, knowing that there’s not much he can do that would help. There’s nothing anyone could do, really.

He just wanted Harry back. _His_ Harry.

+++

That night, Niall lays on his bed, arm outstretched to Harry’s side. He wants to sleep more than anything, but his thoughts are crowding his mind, keeping him from feeling anything near relaxed.

“”M sorry,” Zayn says, the first thing he’s said since Niall told Zayn the news. “I, uh, know how you feel.”

Niall blinks, wipes a tear from his cheek. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. We were gonna save the world,” Niall chokes, attempting to laugh despite the sheer emptiness and sorrow he felt inside.

He hears Zayn take a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “Weren’t we all?”


End file.
